Here Once Again
by Cream-Soda-PSH
Summary: Moving away, then moving back, is always difficult. But suffering from memory loss as well? May was an accomplished coordinator with supporting friends, Marina and Leaf, but one accident causes her to become a student at Petalburg High. NOTE: Story has been abandoned and thus no ending.
1. Chapter 1: Refresh

**_Hi everyone! Aren't I so glad to be back! I sincerely apologize for not updating or re-writing. I can explain, I was in a deep mystical place where there was no Internet or computers. It was called summer camp. Well, I'm back now and please enjoy this newly written chapter_**

* * *

_**Chapter 1 - Refresh **_

_We're moving back to Petalburg? Where's that?_

"May, dear, please be careful, the movers are still here. Try not to get in their way."

May nodded at her mother, but she was as confused as a Dodio in a herd of Rapidash. Being directed to her room, May began to unpack her boxes. _Clothes go here, books go there, bed sheets and blanket, toothbrush…_

Halfway settled in, May flopped onto her bed and started reading her latest entry in her diary, just to "refresh".

_Dear Diary,_

_Moving… I'm going to be so sad leaving Marina and Leaf, they've been my best friends since fifth grade. I guess __I don't need to remind myself. Oh, but what if aliens come and wipe my memories! I should at least have a couple scraps of information here and there. *wink*. Marina, Leaf, Jimmy, they've all been so nice to me. I guess my father can't help it. He's becoming the Petalburg gym leader! I hope the people in Petalburg still remember me, especially Misty and Dawn. I haven't seen them for ages. Ash and Paul, too. Max has been crying for hours. It's driving me insane, I think I'll go take a walk in the park and then a quick shower. I'm meeting Marina and Leaf in twenty, so I can head out early and maybe write some more. Fresh air will probably be a good choice for me._

_~May_

Facing the window, but squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to recall who Marina, Leaf, and Jimmy were. A faint blue light appeared in her mind, but no faces; certainly no memories either. _I wish I remembered, _she thought dejected. Before reading the next entry, May walked over to her full-sized mirror.

Staring intently at herself, her features, she delicately traced a scar from the top of her neck to her left shoulder. _How had this happened? Mother never explained…_ After careful observation, May knew she also had several scars along her back and legs. But turning back to her diary, she continued reading.

_Dear Diary,_

_It's so peaceful at the park. I love the trees rustling and children running around. They sound like their having the time of their lives chasing one another. __They seem to have the time of their lives. I know I shouldn't be writing while walking, Mother has scolded me more than frequently, but when else would I have the time? Marina and Leaf constantly chastise me, too. But I guess I do owe it to them. They took me in when I was the new student. I felt all alone, especially since I just left Misty, Dawn, Ash, Paul… and Drew. How I wish I hadn't left yet._ _I was really getting along with everyone. But Drew… I was so mad at him one moment, so nervous the next. All in all he'd always end it with his roses. I still have all seven; dried them out and kept them safe in a box. He confused me to no end; he frustrated me to no end, but I-" _

A thick pencil mark ran through the rest of the page, as if something, or someone, forcefully pulled against her arm during the last sentence. That was the last journal entry, yet she still had many questions. Why did it stop there? What were her unfinished feelings toward Drew? And the most important one yet: Why doesn't she remember?

"No, it can't be over…" She wailed. "There has to be more! There are so many questions and I– I need to know…"

Small tears ran down her pale face. She would have started weeping, but her mother finally called out, "May, you have some visitors."

* * *

Two girls appeared at her door. One was a tall and slim girl with blazing orange hair tied in a side ponytail; the other was a girl with long, waist-length blue hair, which was let out free and flowing.

"May?" The blue-haired girl said gently. She sounded afraid she was going to hurt the brunette. "It really is you." She began to cry softly, falling to her knees.

"Dawn, hold yourself together." The orange-haired girl sighed. "But, May, it's good to see you." She flashed a smile at her.

"Dawn…" May tested the name in her mouth, it was very familiar. "Which means you're Misty?" She said, pointing at the girl helping Dawn up.

"Yes… Do you remember anything?"

May shook her head slowly, restraining the tears that formed in her eyes.

"Well, not to worry, we can fill you in on everything!" Dawn abruptly stood straight and was re-energized. "Right, Mist?"

"Sure thing, ask away, May. We'll keep it as simple as possible."

"Okay, well, who am I?"

"Maybelle Anne Maple," Dawn piped.

"Daughter of the Petalburg gym leader, Norman, and former MC Caroline," Misty continued.

"Born in Littleroot, you moved to Petalburg when you were just three. But your father moved you all to Mauville City when you were 11."

"Met us in first grade, when you got a younger brother named Max, currently 8 years of age," Misty smiled at their first meeting.

"Those three years in Mauville, you refused to go to school after a month. So you started your Pokemon journey. You chose to become a coordinator. First year you traveled with some girls named Marina and Leaf, but they went back to school the second and third year."

"The first year of your journey, you went quite far. You placed second in the Grand Festival. The next two years, the Ribbon Cup was yours."

"Since you've always been freakishly smart, you studied school material on your own while you traveled. You didn't miss a thing and would probably have made top marks in school."

"But after three years in Mauville, your father got promoted, once again, to being the gym leader here in Petalburg."

"Now you're about to enroll in Petalburg High,"

"As a freshman, just like us," Misty concluded.

May digested the information they gave her. They were right, she caught on pretty quickly.

"What was my personality like?"

"Oh, May, you just act like yourself, alright? You don't need to know what you were like before to act like it again." Dawn reassured.

"Other than you two, who else is here in Petalburg?"

"Well, there's Ash, Paul, and Drew. Unfortunately, Kenny, Brianna, Barry, Anabel, and Tracey left two years ago. They moved all over Hoenn and only God keeps track of them." Misty replied.

"My Pokemon?"

"Well, from what we know, you had a Torchic, which you evolved into a Blaziken, a Skitty, a Glaceon, which evolved from your Eevee, a Munchlax, Beautifly, evolved all the way from a Wurmple, a Venusaur, and a Wartortle." Dawn said, nearly out of breathe.

"Anything else you guys would like to tell me?"

"Well, I think you can manage, we'll fill you in if you need anything."

May nodded, content, but one nagging question was left in her head.

"Um, do you guys know…" May took a deep breath, "why I forgot?"

"I'm sorry, May," Misty said. May took it as an 'I'm sorry, May, I don't know what happened' instead of letting her finish.

"Would you like to tour the town, May?" Dawn asked. "I know some shops you would just love!"

May quickly agreed, she was planning on wandering by herself, but some company and someone who knew the way around would should to be much better. While grabbing some money, the trio left.

* * *

A green-haired boy sat in the living room, watching TV. The doorbell rang.

_Ding dong… Ding dong… Ding dong…_

"Ash, Paul, you can let yourselves in, you know I'm too lazy to." Drew shouted across the hall. The door slowly creaked open to show a boy with black hair beside another boy with purple.

"Drew…" Ash said, looking down.

"Surprising, you're not jumping around asking for food yet." Drew joked. "Paul, did you give him medicine?"

"Shut it. We have something… important to tell you." Paul grunted.

"What can be more important than Ash wanting food?" Drew asked, getting up from the couch and walking to the kitchen. Bringing back a plate of cookies, he paused, allowing them to continue.

"She's back." Paul stated.

"Who?" Drew asked nonchalantly, taking a bite of a snicker doodle.

"Maybelle Anne Maple, that's who,"

"Who's that?"

"You can't be serious," Paul groaned. "You have the shortest memory in the world! Or you're just denser than Ash."

"Dawn and Misty texted just now; they're taking her around the city." Ash said.

Drew flicked his hair, "Tch, if she's so important in our lives, why doesn't she bother call us?"

Paul paused and stared at Drew. Ash stuffed cookie after cookie in his mouth, he had taken the plate from Drew, but also had a look of confusion on his face.

"You mean you haven't heard?" Ash asked, dumbfounded.

"What on earth do you mean?" Drew cried. "What happened!"

Paul finally answered. "She didn't call, Drew, because she probably doesn't remember us."

"And you're calling me dumb?"

"She actually did lose her memories! Unlike the most overconfident, conceited child I'm a bit ashamed of to call a friend."

Drew looked at Paul, but turned away. "Oh."

"I-I can call up Mist and ask her if we can join." Ash said, afraid of Drew's reaction.

"No, I'll see her soon enough. School _is_ starting tomorrow." Drew glanced at Paul. "And then I'll probably remember her, too."

"Suit yourself, Drew."

The green haired boy sat back on the couch and picked up the remote. Flicking through the channels, he seemed confused and impatient.

* * *

**_Whaddya think? You know I love reviews! _**


	2. Chapter 2: Met, but Lost

**_Aren't you guys proud of me? TWO re-writed (uhh, my story has better grammar than this) chapters!_**

* * *

_**Chapter 2 - Met, but Lost**_

It was seven thirty when May got home. The three of went to multiple ramen shops and cafes to help satisfy May's stomach. They also went to the recently opened mall to look at clothes.

"Did you have fun, dear?" Caroline asked.

"Yes, mother. I'm glad I knew Misty and Dawn."

"Alright, honey, tomorrow you have school, so get ready. You're lucky this school doesn't have uniforms." Her mother smiled. "I'll drive you over tomorrow so we can get the paperwork done and settled, you'll get a schedule, and oh! You'll make plenty of friends, just be sure to bring back a boyfriend." Caroline winked and giggled like she was the one going back to school.

"Okay, calm down, you act like you're the one going back to school!" May laughed.

"Sorry, I got carried away."

"And I can fill out the paperwork by myself; you can just relax for tomorrow. You said the school wasn't far? I can walk there, I need the exercise anyways."

"Oh, alright, but I'm just afraid that there'll be a few things you can't remem–"

"I'll be fine." May insisted.

"Okay, I believe you, but call or text me if you need anything."

"Good night, mother."

"G'night."

* * *

"_Follow me, May!" A childish voice cried. "I want to show you somewhere!" _

"_Wait up!" A younger may cried, stumbling to keep up._

"_Slowpoke!" The boy teased._

"_Hey!" May pouted. "That's not nice."_

_"Okay, okay, I'm sorry... Slowking!" The young boy laughed again, but waited for his friend. _

_May came up to him panting, "Why you-!"_

* * *

"May! Wake up, honey, it's time to get ready." Caroline banged on the door.

May opened her eyes, _what a strange dream_, and went to brush her teeth.

"I made you pancakes, your favorite."

May blinked. "Thank you,"

After gobbling down three whole stacks, May left. Twisting her earphones in place, she strolled peacefully while walking to school. After 10 minutes, the number of teenagers increased, May knew she was close. Fortunately spotting Dawn, May sped up.

"Dawn!" May shouted, earning a few glances. Dawn turned from two boys, spotting May, or recognizing her voice, her face was already as bright as a Raichu's Thunderbolt. "May! You're here!"

Several murmurs were heard in the crowd.

"Isn't that her, May Maple!" A gasp was heard.

"She's a coordinating genius, I wonder if she'll sign my hat?"

"What's she doing with Dawn and them?" A snide voice rang.

"Don't you remember? Like, she lived here, like, four years ago, but her father, like, moved. She was, like, best friends with them."

"No, like, way!"

"Yup." Another person sighed, confirming it.

Being completely oblivious to these remarks, Dawn chattered on and on about how May was just going to love it here, again. May nodded her head, looking as if she couldn't care about anything else, but she decided to play angel and spare the two boys who were waiting patiently behind Dawn.

"Dawn, who are these… males," May metaphorically punched herself for her lack of vocabulary. "Who are standing very, very patiently behind you?"

"Oh!" Dawn blushed and turned around sheepishly, she had started describing the school's architecture.

"Troublesome, you never stop talking, do you…?" The boy on the right said.

"Don't call me that! It's worse than when Kenny called me DeeDee." Dawn looked down for a little bit. "I wish he hadn't moved. But, May, you know this place is amazing!"

"The food's amazing!" Ash piped in.

"Quiet! Oh, right! May, I forgot..." Dawn smiled apologetically.

"You forget everything." Paul mumbled.

"I heard that, you! Why are you so annoying? Can't you be nice once in awhile?"

"Hnn."

"I know you can! Remember that time when–" Paul immediately put his hand over Dawn's mouth.

May couldn't help but giggle at them. Dawn and Paul looked at her.

"I'm sorry, it's just that you two are so… charming!" May smiled to herself for her word choice improvement.

Dawn blushed at this, while Paul looked mostly unaffected. Mostly.

"May! Oh, well. But this is Paul, if you didn't know already, and this is Ash."

"Hiya!" Ash waved his hand. May smiled back.

"Hnn." Paul grunted.

* * *

"Hey, May!" Misty hollered while running up to the group.

"Misty, great to see you. How long has it been? Yesterday?" May joked. Dawn and Misty both chuckled at this.

"Drew's going to be late again, isn't he?" Ash said. The bell rang.

"Yep," Everyone agreed.

Misty pulled Dawn and May along. "Well, let's get to the freshman assembly, don't wanna leave a bad impression now, do we!"

May shook her head. "Sorry, Misty, but I've gotta go to the administration office to fill out the paperwork."

Dawn hesitated, "But May, what if you don't remember some things?"

May smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry; I'll call my mother or something."

Misty and Dawn took one more glance at her before leaving with Ash and Paul.

"I'll be fine." May whispered to herself.

* * *

Reaching the office, May softly knocked on the door and slowly entered.

"Maybelle, is that you?" The secretary behind the desk stared.

"Y-yes?" May squeaked.

"Oh, it's been so long, it's me, Nurse Joy! I use to babysit you when you were younger." The woman replied overly joyful.

"I'm sorry…"

"Oh, don't worry, I already aware of your condition." Nurse Joy said, although she seemed a bit disappointed.

May nodded before speaking again, "May I have the paperwork I need to fill out?"

"Oh, sure thing, here you are. I know quite a bit about you, so feel free to ask me if you need help!"

"Thank you." May walked back to a seat against the wall and looked that the paper.

She whispered incoherently the questions to herself:

"Full name: Maybelle Anne Maple.

Birthday (MM/DD/YY): 03/28/xx

Blood Type:"

May left that blank. As she continued down the list of medical problems, she was stumped on most of them. _Why hadn't Mother done this beforehand? _So after asking Nurse Joy for help, she had finally completed the pages of information just shortly after assembly ended.

"Thank you, May," Nurse Joy said as she collected all the papers.

"No, I must thank you, Nurse Joy," May smiled. "I probably wouldn't have finished before lunch without you!"

Smiling, Nurse Joy handed May a slip of paper. "That's your schedule. If there are any problems, you can come to me. The assembly is ending right around now, so you should go to homeroom. Oh, and here is your locker number."

"Thank you so much," May said.

"It was my pleasure."

* * *

May turned around and walked out the door. Nurse Joy was right; people were flowing out of rooms from the assembly. May weaved throughout the people, often hearing murmurs about her presence, and finally found her locker. Thankfully it was close to her homeroom.

"May! Looks like we're locker buddies!" Ash called out. A lopsided grin was plastered on his face.

"Yeah, it seems so." May returned with a warm smile.

"So which homeroom do you have?" Ash asked.

May turned and pointed to a room to the left.

"I have Solidad for homeroom and she's teaching me Coordination V on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays."

"Cool, I have her for homeroom as well. Grab your book for first period and let's go!" Ash said excitedly.

"Okay, okay," May giggled. "You sound like a hyper puppy!"

Ash grinned at her, again. After seeing May take her textbook, he dragged her into Solidad's room. Upon entering the room, May found Ash and herself facing an entire room full of teens. May gulped; there were so many people and no faces which she recognized. Ash looked at her discomfort and searched around for Misty, Dawn, Paul, or Drew.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Mist's here, or Drew." Ash said. May nodded, but still fidgeted as the glances from the sea of freshman increased. Sudden, a young woman with gentle pink hair walked into the room. Glancing at May and Ash, her face brightened.

"Maybelle! Hello, I'm Solidad." The woman greeted.

May wasn't as surprised as the rest of the class. She had met Solidad when she was traveling, most often during the Grand Festivals. They were actually pretty close acquaintances.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Solidad." May said; she might have been a bit shocked that she was her homeroom teacher.

Solidad smiled, "Oh, so you remember. Well, then, Ash! Go sit down! Everyone take a seat, arrangements will be arranged later. May, stay up here for a little while,"

Said brunette nodded. She glanced at where Ash went to sit; he had found Paul. Dawn and Misty apparently had a differently homeroom teacher.

"For all you freshman who didn't attend middle school at Petalburg Middle, I am Solidad. I'll be your homeroom teacher and I'll be teaching Coordination V with the talented juniors and seniors. And of course none other than Maybelle Maple. I'm sure you've all heard or watched her perform. I'm glad to say she has come back, but due to some… complications, she can no longer travel for some time. So please treat her with respect and kindness. May? Would you like to say a few words?"

May gulped and shook her head, public speaking was not her favorite thing to do.

"Oh, come now, the youngest coordinator to win the Ribbon Cup, twice, can't possibly afraid of public speaking. The Princess of Hoenn being out of words is unheard of."

Once again, May shook her head.

"Okay, alright, go take a seat next to Ash and Paul." Solidad said. This time May nodded and dragged herself to where Ash and Paul were. Throughout her entire walk, May tried so hard not to stumble or trip, but her name was being whispered everywhere.

"Don't look so down, May," Ash said. "We're here, too, don't you forget!"

Quietly taking a seat, May nodded once more. Then she took a complete survey of the room, the people in it.

"And so, homeroom is nearly over, since this is the first day, I'd like you all, for today, to just get to know your teachers, requirements, and classroom behavior. And–"

A knock was heard on the door. Solidad sighed, knowing who it was already. Opening the door just so she could face the person on the other side, she glanced at the boy.

"Drew, homeroom is nearly over, just go to your first period." The boy nodded and left. "Alright, class, now you can go to first period, relax for today because I know I've seen some stressed faces already!"

The classroom was suddenly filled with the sound of desks and chairs scraping the desk, feet scuffling the ground, and chatter amongst friends about May.

"May, what do you have for first period?" Ash asked.

"AP Calculus,"

"Really? Oh wow, I'm in the presence of a genius!" Ash was in awe.

Paul coughed, "Drew and I are there, too."

"You have to tutor Misty and I! She's stuck on Algebra II and me on Pre-Algebra."

"Sure thing," May nodded.

"Yo, sorry to interrupt," Paul spoke in a monotone voice, not very apologetic, "but we've got to get to AP Calc, and Ashy-boy's got English 101."

He took May by the shoulders, turned her around, and gave her a small push indicating: Thatta way.

* * *

"So…" May said trying to stop the silence between her and Paul.

"Hnn?"

"Uh, so who's Drew?"

Paul didn't reply for awhile, so May stayed quiet. After a few more steps in silence, he replied, "You'll see for yourself. Neither of you remember each other, so this will be an interesting week."

"'Kay…"

They reached their designated classroom and took a seat next to the window. It seemed that Mr. Wattson didn't mind where they sat either.

"Alright, class, I'm Mr. Wattson, and this is AP Calculus. I'd first like to announce we have some freshmen in this class this year. Juniors and seniors, please give Drew Hayden, Paul Shinji, and Miss Maybelle Maple a round of applause. Anyways, we'll start today with a review quiz." Everyone, but May and Paul groaned at the older man.

"Yes, yes, no one likes quizzes on the first day of school, but don't let it shock you. You'll probably receive two to five more quizzes like this!"

Walking around, he handed out the sheet of paper. Then looking at the clock, he said a simple, "Begin."

May merely glanced at the test sheet before completing it with utter simplicity. They were all what she learned in her last year of travelling. She hadn't forgotten any material because she looked back on her textbooks before starting school. When she was finished, she poked her head around at the rest of the class; nearly everyone still had their heads down with perplexity broadcasted across their faces. So she stared out the window.

"Ahem." A voice coughed. May abruptly turned and checked the time; it was near the end of the period. What was she doing for such an extended amount of time? The person in front of her desk looked at her. "I'm here to collect your test?"

"Ah, okay." May lifted the sheet of paper to the boy. _How peculiar, he has green hair. Oh wait, but Paul has purple and Dawn blue…_

She watched the boy collect the rest of the tests and then bringing them up to Mr. Wattson.

"That's him." Paul mumbled.

"Who?" May asked, but then it clicked. That was Drew. "Oh."

"Now class, you may have a little break before your next class." Mr. Wattson announced, accepting all the quizzes from Drew. "I'll have your quizzes marked by the end of class."

"So, Paul. Who is this lovely lady you have next to you?" Drew came over and pulled up a chair.

"Thought you could remember after looking at her," Paul muttered.

"Maple, it's been a long time hasn't it?" May stared with a blank expression. Drew chuckled at her, "Oh, come now, has fame gone to your head?"

Drew remembered how adorable the ten year old May looked furious. He tried to tease her to see that lovable reaction, but this time it backfired because May continued to gaze, oblivious to his comments.

"…Tch," Drew scoffed angrily and stomped off. "So you don't remember anything?"

And then the bell rang. The students walked to the front to get their quizzes back and hurriedly walked out to get to their next class.

* * *

_**Success...**_


	3. Chapter 3: God's Tears

**_Let's hear it for rewrites! Okay, so only three more chapters to rewrite. And then I promise you all a new chapter, maybe two or even three! But I'll also be working on The Artist and my doujinshi. So no gurantees are ever made, like usual. Please enjoy and maybe review?_**

* * *

_**Chapter 3 - God's Tears**_

"Locker buddy!" Ash cried.

"Hey, Ash," May replied to the overly hyper boy.

"May, great luck, we've all got Phys. Ed next!" Misty called, coming from behind her. For some reason, this felt nostalgic to May.

"Nice!" May grinned. "Is your locker near here as well?"

Misty nodded, "Let's go! I wanna beat Ash, and others, down to the ground! I'm pretty sure we're going to be playing dodgeball!"

Dawn came running up to them, panting. "Come on, you guys, you know how Brawley hates people who are late! Where're Paul and Drew?"

May cringed a bit, "Well, Paul left for his locker after AP Calculus, but I'm not sure about Drew…"

Misty had an incredulous look, "You have AP Calc? That's amazing!" Regaining her posture, she added, "So you've met him?"

"Yeah, he seemed to be… angry at me." May deeply contemplated that recent encounter with Drew. "His eyes… they were… terrifyingly…" She stopped; she didn't know how to describe that emotion she had extracted.

Misty and Dawn both threw in suggestions.

"Scary?"

"Proud?"

"Infuriating?"

"Disturbed?"

"Oblivious?"

"Awkward?"

Ash kept flicking his eyes Misty, then Dawn, then back to Misty.

"No, it's none of those," May shook her head. "He just seemed lonely."

Misty and Dawn nodded, understanding; Ash shook his head, confused.

* * *

"Ah, my time to relieve stress has finally arrived!" Misty exclaimed.

"Misty, I still don't understand why you prefer this to something like… shopping!" Dawn said giving an impression of horror.

"Dawn, Dawn, Dawn…" Misty shook her head. "Don't you understand? This is the time when I get to beat Ash up and not get a scolding for!"

Dawn sweatdropped, "Yeah, sure…"

May looked between both girls, confusion swept her face.

"How are you two friends?"

"Heheh, hard to believe, right?" Misty chuckled.

"But it was you who kept us together!" Dawn continued. "And when you left, we swore not to let your hard work go to waste."

Misty nodded and was about to say something else when she was cut off by Brawley.

"We're playing dodgeball now, kids. No time for chitchat. Teams today will be simple; boys versus girls. Girls on the left side of the court, guys have the right. On my whistle now! Three…! Two…! One…!"

The loud shrieking of the whistle sounded and some students gave a loud roar. May was timid and only observed others throw and catch while she dodged. Ash was naturally the first out, and then it was Dawn, Paul, and the rest of the students in the class. Drew eventually got Misty out, she was fuming. But that left only Drew and May on the court. You might be wondering why May was still there. She was dodging the entire time, too busy to be distracted and throw a ball.

"Don't just stand there, Maple," Drew called out. Then whispering quietly to May as if she could hear him, "Remember everything I taught you." _And apply it now!_ His thoughts were drown out by the silence. He never noticed if a crowd was chattering nonstop, but he was always perceptive of the dead, haunting silence.

May's instincts took over when Drew threw a ball at her, sparing no mercy. It might've hit her, if Drew was aiming for her.

"Hayden, you better prepare for this!" May vociferated. This time, his thoughts were overpowered by the screech of a Golbat. Taking vigilant aim, she threw the rubbery ball and it struck Drew square in the shoulder before he reacted.

The whistle blew again. "And the girls win!"

Drew smirked. She was getting it back, little by little, but she was getting her memories back.

"No! That's not what's supposed to happen!" Misty shouted.

* * *

Currently, May, Misty, and Ash were in Writer's Workshop. They were arguing about the passing events of their collaboration story. This project was half of their grade. Full credit and passing grades were to be given to the story the student body voted on; the winning story would also be featured as the school play.

"But of course friendship ends in romance if they've been together since they were five!" May pointed out. "Duh!"

"Well, look at us!" Ash argued.

"Y-yeah…" Misty said hesitantly.

"I mean," Ash continued. "Misty and I have been together since we were five! We're not together. Both Dawn and Paul were in Sinnoh together before they moved here in kindergarten! And last of all… you and…mmmph!"

Misty quickly clamped her hand over Ash's mouth.

"Hush now…" She said quietly, but venom dripped off her voice, directed at Ash of course. "Not anymore out of you, Ash. We'll… go with May's idea."

"Yes!" The brunette cheered. _But how… different,_ May thought._ The first day of school and we're already preparing for a play._

"But Mist!" Ash complained.

Misty was tired of Ash's constant whining. She finally took out her mallet and gave him a good hard thwack in the head. He was sprawled on the floor, unconscious, for the rest of the period.

May looked extremely worried, but Misty reassured, "Don't worry, he's fine. Let's continue our story."

May uncertainly nodded and brought pencil to paper.

"_The story of the peasant girl, Alicia, and her childhood friend, the Prince, unravels in this mysterious tale. Following our heroine, she wandered deep into the forest with no Pokemon aiding her… then a knight in shining armor comes and saves her from the steaming Beedrill. Twelve years later, they remained distant friends, since one was royalty and the other only a lonely farmer's daughter, but their undying love for each other made it impossible to marry anyone else…"_

"Girls, that was certainly a beautiful beginning. Please continue on with the good work, although, Misty? Don't knock Ash unconscious next time. I'm sure he had some great suggestions."

"Yes, ma'am!" The girls replied enthusiastically.

As it does at the end of every period, the bell sounded for the fourth time that day.

"Ash, wake up." May tried poking him.

"Here, let me." Misty pulled May aside and crouched next to Ash's ear. "Ash, the cafeteria's serving tacos."

"Where!" Ash immediately sat up straight, quickly getting to his feet. "Misty! Don't do that…!"

"Only to wake you up," Misty said simply. "Come on, May."

"'Kay," May replied, skipping beside her friend.

* * *

The next few hours went by uneventful. There were more tests and work to be done in classes, they had a lunch break, but silence crowded everyone except Dawn, who was more than energized enough to talk about her entire day. They finally had to silence her by stuffing a chocolate Twizzler down her throat.

The afternoon class ended at three o'clock and they were as dull as the past classes. When the bell rang for the last time of the day, people rushed and pushed to get to the school bus or their own cars, once in awhile someone went on foot.

"May, you wanna hang out this afternoon?" Dawn chirped.

"Sure, why not?" May was glad she wasn't going to be alone today either.

"Shall we invite the boys along?" Misty questioned.

"I don't see a reason not to!" Dawn replied.

"Someone called?" Drew walked up to the girls. Flipping his hair casually, his nose was pretty high in the clouds.

"Yes, Your Highness," Misty mockingly bowed. Dawn giggled. "You finally decided to show your sorry excuse of a face."

Drew snorted as Ash and Paul came behind. "Oh, please, last time I checked, I was the one with the billions of fangirls."

"Last time we checked, May was top coordinator and the one with the billions of fanboys _and_ fangirls." Misty fought back.

"Last time I checked she forgot her damned memories." Drew spat, but immediately slapped his hands over his own big mouth.

"Well, we could stand here and talk all day, but it looks like it's going to rain!" Dawn cut the awkward silence. Thunder boomed seven seconds after the flash of lightning.

"Seven miles away…" May said. Misty and Dawn brought out their hands to feel the rain. It was nice and cool, but another rumble of thunder and Dawn jumped straight into Paul's arms.

"Tsk, still afraid of a small thunderstorm, aren't we, Troublesome?" Paul said, but did not let go of the girl or push her away. You could see the tears in her eyes and maybe, by pure miracle, Paul would have understood and been a little sympathetic. At least Paul offered to take her home. Then there were four.

"Sooo…" Misty tried to start a conversation since the group had fallen into an awkward silence. "Hey, Ash, weren't you going to battle me today?"

"Huh? Battle? Anytime, you're on, Misty!" Ash pumped his fist. The two ran off into the rain, probably racing one another to the gym.

"And that leaves the two of us…" May and Drew simultaneously said. They gave each other a glance and May broke into a fit of giggles while Drew tried to conceal his chuckle.

"Let's take a walk," May suggested.

"But it's raining." Drew simple stated.

"I meant let's take a walk because it's raining!"

"You honestly want to walk through God's pee?" Drew said.

"You've still got a ten year old boy's mind, don't you, Drew?" May teased, but she was actually a bit grossed out.

"You know me." Drew grinned.

"No, I actually… don't." May looked down. "But let's go!"

Her lonely expression quickly vanished and turned into a lopsided beam, which reminded him a bit of Ash. Dragging Drew into the rain, they meandered through the people and finally into the park.

"Maaayyy…" Drew whined. "I'm all wet now."

"Wimp," she replied while childishly sticking out her tongue. "But I think the rain is beautiful."

Loud thunder boomed. Drew winced at the ear-piercing noise, but May continued to stare at the sky entranced at its beauty.

"I certainly don't." Drew said with a look of disgust. He also looked up at the smoggy, bland, gloomy sky.

"But it's so refreshing and new." May continued. "Although it brings the pollution down, it cleans and clears stress away. Its gentle and steady beat just makes me want to sleep and rest for the day. Some people say they represent God crying, but those tears, if tears at all, I think they are tears of joy."

"May, May, May," Drew shook his head and sighed. "Let's get back before you catch pneumonia. Or suffer neck pains from staring at the sky for so long.

This time he took her hand and brought her to a small cafe near the park.

"We'll stay here until the rain calms a little, alright?" Drew said.

May nodded. Even though they were inside, she still stared out the window, looking at the tears from the heavens.

* * *

**_Love all of you who read this. Reviews are welcome._**


	4. Chapter 4: The Vote For The Ball

**_Now it's only two more chapters! Yippee! Enjoy._**

* * *

_**Chapter 4 - To Vote For The Ball**_

"Hey," Drew snapped his fingers. "May…!"

Said girl had been staring out the window at the rain for the past 10 minutes. She just couldn't seem to take her eyes off of ot; it was as if she had never seen rain before.

"I'll ask you one more time before I'm leaving you to starve." Drew said, clearly impatient at the girl, "What do you want to eat?"

Once he received the grumbling of May's stomach, but no reply from her mouth, he left her at the small table and went to order something for them both, being the chivalrous gentleman he sometimes was. Bringing back a caramel latte and a croissant for himself, he was kind enough to bring May back a triple chunk chocolate cookie, a bagel, a strawberry and apple smoothie, and a slice of blueberry cheesecake.

"Enjoy, May," Drew murmured.

Apparently this time May heard him. Her head snapped back to reality and looked at the food on the table.

"I wasn't so sure what you like now, so I winged it and guessed you hadn't changed over the past years." Drew told her as he sipped away at his latte.

"Is that an… an apple and strawberry smoothie?"

Drew nodded.

"I love them! And a triple chunk cookie! Thank you, Drew! I guess you know me better than I do." She said while gobbling down her pastries and smoothie.

"I'm glad…" Drew said.

A few minutes later, May had finished all except her strawberry apple smoothie.

"You eat so much." Drew mumbled. "Yet you don't gain weight…"

May seemed a bit offended, but went to go buy herself another chocolate muffin.

"Hey, May!" Drew called out, waving the girl back. "It looks like the rain has stopped, well, at least for the most part. Let's go, I'll send you back to your house."

"Okay," May agreed.

* * *

The two walked in a comfortable silence to May's home. Drew walked her to the door steps and helped her ring the doorbell.

"May, darling, thank goodness you're alright." Caroline fussed. "It was raining so heavily that I thought you would catch pneumonia or something! I- Drew! Is that you, honey? It's been so long!"

Drew flashed his best "mom smile" at her and said, "Yes, Mrs. Maple, it's great to see you again, too."

"Oh, Drew, you must stay for dinner! We must catch up after so many years. Look how much you've grown and how tall you are!"

Drew opened his mouth, about to turn down her offer politely, but Caroline gave him a stern look.

"Drew Hayden, you know I never take no for an answer."

Drew sighed, surrendering because he knew resistance could cost him. "Alright, Mrs. Maple."

"Come in, come in, both of you. It looks like you're both dry now. Norman, dear, May's home and she's brought a friend!"

Coming out from the living room, Norman embraced his daughter.

"How was the first day, sweetie?" He asked.

"It was great, daddy." May replied.

"That's good to hear." Just then, Norman noticed they had company. "Drew! Drew Hayden, it's been so long since we've last seen you!"

"Hello, Mr. Maple." Drew said as courteously to him as he was with Mrs. Maple. They exchanged a firm handshake.

"You are looking well. You must stay for dinner."

"Yes, sir. Mrs. Maple already made that clear to me." Drew chuckled.

"Ah, yes. Well, we'll catch up during dinner. You and May probably haven't completely finished talking together. Come on, Caroline." Norman and Caroline left the two teens alone.

"Sooo…" Drew began.

"Sooo…" May repeated. "How've you been for the past years?"

"Really now, Maybelle," Drew started. "Is it really time to be asking that? You were with me all afternoon."

May cringed when he used her real name, but shook her head nonetheless. Out of nowhere, a boy with navy blue hair and glasses popped in.

Pushing up his glasses he greeted the party, "It's great to see you again, Drew."

Drew nodded at the boy's presence. "Max."

The boy turned to his sister. "May, did you take my videos again?"

May nodded sheepishly, "All I wanted to know was what that play was! You wouldn't tell me."

"Fine, just give them back later. I just wanted to say hi to Drew."

"Kay, see you at dinner, little bro."

He tipped his head and while leaving, he passed Drew and whispered discreetly, "Are you going to try and get her back?"

Drew had a serious face on, which eventually softened into a warm smile. It made Max chuckled.

Then he replied back, "Even if it takes me years again."

May was confused at what Drew sudden said, but she dismissed it.

"Kids, Norman, dinner!" Caroline shouted.

The five gathered at the dinner table and sat down; Norman sat at the head of the table, Caroline sat to his right, May to his left, Max next to Caroline, and Drew next to May. Caroline had made curry for dinner.

"After four years, your cooking is still as great as always, Mrs. Maple." Drew complimented.

"Thank you, Drew."

"So, Drew. How've you been these past few years?" Norman prompted.

"I've been well. Passing grades with ease and been supported and surrounded by great friends."

"That's good to hear."

For the rest of dinner, they happily chatted about everything. When dinner was over and cleaned up, Drew thanked the Maples and took his leave.

"He's still such a sweet boy." Caroline said.

"He'll grow up to be a fine man." Norman agreed.

"I'm going to do my homework, okay? Good night, mom, dad." May yawned.

"Good night, darling." They replied back.

* * *

"_Maybelle Maple! Maybelle Maple!" Three boys were seen poking and pulling May's pigtails. "Ha ha! Maybelle, it sounds like a cow!"_

"_Stop it!" The five year old May cried. "That's not my name!"_

"_You bullies, leave her alone." A new boy appeared. _

"_Drew, Drew! Listen to us, it's so funny. This girl's name is Maybelle. Ha ha!" One of the boys explained and broke out into laughter._

"_Leave her alone!" Drew roared. _

"_Ahh!" The boys screamed and ran from the furious Drew._

_May was on the dirt ground weeping. _

"_Are you okay?" Drew asked. May shook her head."I'm Drew."_

"_I…I'm May." She whispered._

"_I think that's a great name you've got there, May. At least it's better than Andrew." The boy shuddered. _

_May smiled at Drew, "Thank you."_

"_No problem."_

"_We can be friends, right?" May looked at the boy._

"_Of course!"_

"_May, dear, time to go home!" Caroline pulled up with a car._

"_That's my mommy, so I've got to go, Drew. I'll see you tomorrow! Bye-bye!" May waved as she ran toward her mother._

"May! Dear, wake up!" Caroline once again banged on her door in the morning. "You're going to be late!"

May groggily sat up and got ready, grabbing toast for the road, she walked out the door.

* * *

"Dawn!" May spotted her friend and ran up to her.

"Morning, May!" Dawn sang. She was looking at a poster taped to the wall of the school. "Come look at this!"

May read the poster aloud:

"_In one week, on September 1st, there will be the annual ball for the freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. This year, our committee decided that there should be a vote for King and Queen. They will receive the first dance of the night. Please vote for your King and Queen in Homeroom. It will be held in the gym and the times are from blah blah blah… blah blah blah…._

Wow! That's wonderful!" May cheered. "I've never actually been to a dance before since I skipped the seventh and eighth grade dance."

"We're so going shopping today!" Dawn jumped up and down in excitement. "I can't wait to tell Misty!"

"Dawn, I'm already aware." Misty said, coming up to the duo. "I have no objections. What about you May?"

May shook her head, "I'm fine with it. But let's head to Homeroom first."

"I know this shop that you'll both just love…" Dawn blabbered on.

"Are you going to ask Misty?" Drew asked Ash.

"Why? For what?" Ash replied.

Drew sighed, but answered his questions, "To the dance, dimwit."

"Oh, uh…" Ash was unsure.

"I'll take that as a yes. Paul? You are going to ask 'Troublesome?"

"Hnn. Only if Ash asks Misty and you ask May." He grumbled.

"Deal,"

"Dudes, we better get to Homeroom, Solidad's not gonna be happy we're late." Ash looked at his watch and started bouncing up and down.

"Just keep your pants on, Ash…" Drew sighed.

As May sat down, she rubbed her shoulders; they had started to ache after carrying three textbooks home and back.

"Ms. May! Will you go to the dance with me?" A brave soul walked up to May and shoved a daisy in her face. She sneezed, but took the flower, although she brought it quite a distance away from her face.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know you…" May gave him a sweet look. And here she was on her third day of school, and with the news of the dance being made official, somebody had already asked her to go with them.

"Oh…o-okay. I'm sorry, Ms. May, how incredibly rude of me…" The boy slinked back to his own desk and plucked the petals off the flower one by one.

"I-I didn't mean to sound so h-harsh," May sputtered after seeing what happened.

"Don't worry about it, May," Ash said. "He was creepy."

Misty nodded in agreement and that put May to a little bit of ease.

The three boys finally appeared into the classroom.

"Man, you guys are nearly late!" Ash cried, he had taken off without them, therefore being on time to Homeroom.

"Shove a Pokeball in it, Ash," Paul grumbled as he slide into his seat next to May. Drew also sauntered in and took his seat behind May.

"Look what the Meowth dragged in." May commented.

"How original, June."

"Grasshead," May spat.

"Tomatoface," he countered.

"Rose boy,"

Drew's eyes widened a little, but he didn't fail to return her insult, "Midget."

"Alright, class," Solidad walked in. "It's time for the voting! Although there should be a list of candidates, we weren't able to print enough sheets for the entire school, so please just write the first and last name of the student and their Homeroom teacher. Lily, please pass the paper around."

May sighed as she received her own paper. Who to choose? She only knew three to four people, and that was excluding Ash, Dawn, Drew, Misty, and Paul. She decided on Paul and Dawn, thinking how hilarious it would be to see emotion on Paul's face. But she was one of the only ones who voted for Paul.

"Time's up, Violet, please collect the papers."

May turned around and glanced at Drew, who had folded his paper, then she looked at Ash, who was folding his paper, and finally Paul, who was handing his paper to Violet. _I wonder who they voted for…_

* * *

**_Yes! I feel proud. Now, I'm really tired right now and suffering from jetlag, but I'll try to stay up to complete the next chapters. Okay? Reviews are WELCOME!_**


	5. Chapter 5: Back in Action

**_Look who's being diligent. Me. _**

**_Hi. Enjoy._**

* * *

_**Chapter 5 - Back in Action**_

"_Shopping, everybody, shopping; I love shopping, don't you_?" Dawn skipped and sang all the way to class. Her textbooks that usually weighed her down were as light as marshmallows that day, everyone wondered why.

"Dawn, wait up! You're skipping too quickly!" May panted as she stumbled after the girl.

"But I don't want to be late for lunch!" Dawn called back to her.

"I know you're desperate to see Paulie-Wallie, but come on! We just had P.E., too!" May whined.

"I'll see you, later, Feraligatr!" Dawn sped down the hallway and pranced into the cafeteria.

_It feels nice to be with them, again,_ May thought, _Even though I don't remember what I was like before, it's all really familiar. Who's to say that I shouldn't be happy once in a while?_

"Ah, May! Just the coordinator I wanted to see."

May jerked around, breaking her chain of thought, and saw Solidad waving to her.

"Hi, Solidad," May waved back and gave her a grin.

"I was just looking for you," Solidad explained. "I wanted to work on this idea I had for Coordination V."

May nodded. "What is it about? Are other students going to be involved as well?"

"Since yesterday we didn't have a chance to start anything, I didn't have time to explain. But you know how there's the annual ball next week? Well, I want to you perform! The students here really don't know what it's like to see a true champion coordinate and connect with their Pokemon. I want you to show them and try coordinating again, even if it's just a small performance like that!"

"T-that sounds nice and all, Solidad, b-but I haven't… I've… my Pokemon… they… I…" May stuttered and gave up speaking altogether.

"I know, May. You've forgotten, or so you've made yourself believe." Solidad continued. "But you have an entire week to do this. It'll be amazing, trust me. Oh, I'm not going to take no for an answer!"

"Solidad, please, you know I won't be able to…" May was looking down at her feet, quite ashamed. She didn't know why she was refusing, but as much as she loved her Pokemon and coordinating, there was something holding her back.

Solidad crossed her arms defiantly. "May! I just said that I wasn't going to take no for an answer! And I know for certain you can do this."

"I'm sorry, Solidad, but I won't do it," May shook her head.

"Then tell me, May, what do you have to lose? Your pride? Your dignity? None of that matters! Alright, maybe it does matter, but I know how to settle this; with a Pokemon battle. If you can beat me, May, I'll let you off, but if I win, you're performing next week!"

May meekly nodded and said dryly, "Alright, Solidad. You're on. A one on one battle, right now."

"Wait, let's take this outside."

Walking to the garden, May was silent, except for the grumbles that occasionally came from her stomach.

"Shall we have lunch before we begin?" Solidad said, noticing that May was practically about to collapse out of starvation.

"Yes, please!" May swiftly pulled out a Tupperware full of fried rice and noodles. "You want some?"

Solidad shook her head politely and pulled out a container of rice balls for herself.

For the next ten minutes, the silence of the garden was ruined by the slurping and the munching of May and Solidad. Immediately standing up after eating, May scuffled across from Solidad so they could begin their battle.

* * *

"Come on out, Pidgeot!"

May took a Pokeball from her belt and released it, "Skitty! Oh, but wait! Solidad, it's only fair that I get to know what moves my Skitty knows…"

"Maaayyy…" Solidad whined. "Shouldn't you have at least remembered that?"

"I'm sorry! Just… a minute!" She pulled out her PokeDex and pointed it towards Skitty.

A metallic voice beeped:

" _Skitty, the Kitten Pokemon. Skitty will get completely caught up in pursuing any moving objects that catches its eye. A Skitty's adorably cute behavior makes it highly popular. In battle, it makes its tail puff out. It threatens foes with a sharp growl. Skitty knows Tackle, DoubleSlap, Assist, and Blizzard._"

"See now, that didn't take so long, Solidad." May stuffed the PokeDex back into her pocket.

Solidad rolled her eyes and quickly called out, "FeatherDance!"

"Tackle!" May immediately responded. Skitty charged past the swirling feathers that erupted from Pidgeot until she was underneath Pidgeot. Then she slammed Pidgeot upwards. Pidgeot span in midair until slowly coming to a stop.

"Blizzard!"

"Aerial Ace through it, Pidgeot!" Solidad commanded.

"Assist!" May hurriedly yelled, while in her mind she pleaded that the attack would be something to protect Skitty.

May looked back at Skitty; she had conjured up a giant Gust! Although usually Pidgeot would have dodged it, he was going at too quick a pace to be able to turn.

Pidgeot was blown to the ground, but he immediately sprung back up, hardly fazed.

"Pidgeot, Double Team!" Solidad shouted, once again. "Then Aerial Ace one more time."

"Skitty, Double Slap the duplicates until you find the right one!"

Skitty quickly fired around, using her tail to slap out all the copies, but then the real Pidgeot launched his attack. It was a direct hit, and without delay, Skitty was propelled to the ground.

"Skitty! Come on, I know you can get up." May kept on yelling encouragement to her Pokemon. After a bit of struggle, Skitty mustered up enough energy to stand up.

"Skitty's weak, Pidgeot, FeatherDance, again!"

"Skitty, Assist!"

Skitty started pawing at the ground; she was using Glaceon's Dig attack!

"Pidgeot, Aerial Ace into the hole!"

The bird Pokemon swooped down and made a perfect entrance.

"Blizzard, Skitty!"

Blowing the Pidgeot out of her hideout, Skitty jumped out with him.

"Tackle!"

Then, for the last time, Skitty put her entire weight into tackling Pidgeot. The attack was highly effective and Pidgeot stayed on the ground, eyes turned into swirls.

* * *

With a cheery smile gracing her face, Solidad called out, "Return Pidgeot! You did good, now have your rest."

May breathed a sigh and called back her Skitty. "That… was a great battle Solidad."

"It certainly was better than the time you beat me in the Grand Festival when you were 11, May! You've really improved. Now I just wish to see your appeals, although I know you can coordinate just fine."

"Thanks, Solidad, but I don't think I'm ready yet. I just might take your offer into consideration now. While battling you, I realized how much effort I've put with my Pokemon and how strong they've become. It's really fun just being with them."

Solidad nodded understandingly, she turned to the side to examine the health of the flowers that were surrounding their battleground, and started speaking again, "That's what most of us coordinators and trainers feel. That's one of the motivations we have to keep us going when times are rough. Trust me, I didn't take it so well when I got beat by an eleven year old. But my Pidgeot, Slowbro, and Lapras have really worked hard together with me. Each morning instead of grueling over the fact that we just weren't strong enough, we just kept on training and working on our appeals until we were."

"Solidad, I'll definitely try and come up with a routine, but don't expect much, 'kay? Oh, and I've got to go, Misty and Dawn will take my head if I'm late for the only other period I share with them." May waved to Solidad as she quickly walked to class.

"See you later in Coordinating V!"

May flashed one more smile to Solidad before disappearing into the crowds.

* * *

"May! Where were you?" Dawn basically assaulted May when she put her textbooks down on the desk.

"We couldn't find you anywhere in the cafeteria." Misty said.

"And Drewbie was so, so sad and lonely without you." Dawn pouted.

"Ah, I'm sorry, I was battling Solidad." May explained.

Misty and Dawn both gave her skeptical looks.

"How hard did she beat you?" Dawn was the first to strike the question.

"I beat her." May said with a bit of irritation stuck on her face.

"Now, May, we all know you could never pull that one on us." Misty gave a stern look.

"It's true!" May continued.

"Are you sure?" Dawn asked one more time.

"I beat her when I was eleven, and I beat her just now!"

"Okay, okay, May," Misty put her hands up, "Just calm down, we believe you."

"Thank you." May huffed indignantly. She glanced up, "Oh look, the teacher's here."

"Party pooper!" Dawn stuck out her tongue, but slowly crawled back to her seat, reluctant to leave her two friends.

"Ah, the bell! Finally I can go home and get some rest." May stretched out her arms and twisted around.

"Oh no, Ms. Maple, we're not done yet." Dawn grabbed her by one arm.

"Definitely not," Misty came up from behind and grabbed her by her other arm.

"You guys!" May whined.

"Ah, but we're sleeping over tonight, and you know what that means, don't you?"

"Wait, you're sleeping over on a weekday? Do my parents know?" May asked disbelievingly.

"Yes and yes, May!" Misty flicked her on the forehead.

"Alright, Dawn, what does it mean?"

"Well if you don't remember, then you'll just have to wait and see!" Dawn giggled happily.

"I love the sound of that!" May said enthusiastically sarcastic.

"Of course you do, now we'll see you soon, dearest May," Dawn twiddled her fingers and made her exit with Misty.

* * *

**_Hi again. Although I should say bye for this chapter. Reviews?_**


	6. Chapter 6: Fancy a Party?

**_I know I rock. This is the last chapter to rewrite! Everybody's cheering because this can finally move on after a very, very long time. Please Enjoy!_**

**_Edited: I sincerely apologize for being so stupid. This is the REAL chapter six, I have no idea what possessed me to update the document as chapter two, and I haven't noticed until now. I apologize for my idiocity again. Thank you for understanding, or don't understand and BE THAT WAY!_**

* * *

_**Chapter 6 - Fancy a Party?**_

May trudged home and plopped onto the couch. Misty and Dawn went home to "prepare" for who knows what!

Suddenly, Caroline walked into the room and noticed May's posture. "Honey, you look exhausted. Would you like to have a rest before Misty and Dawn come over for the night?"

May meekly nodded and instantaneously fell asleep on the couch. Caroline shook her head, but went upstairs to fetch a blanket for her fatigued daughter.

* * *

"_May!" A young boy with emerald hair called out. _

"_Hi, Drew!" May replied. "My mama told me to thank you for the other day! Thank you!"_

"_It was nothing." Drew shook his head and balled up a fist, "Those meanies were asking for it!"_

_The little girl giggled, "You were like the prince in my storybook, Drew!"_

_Drew blushed a little. "I have a surprise for you, May! Close your eyes."_

_May did as she was told. Swiftly, Drew stuck a brilliant red rose behind May's ear and stepped back._

_The impatient five year old didn't feel his deft movement, but hold it any longer and opened her eyes. _

"_What was the surprise, Drew?"_

"_Uh…"_

"_Drew!"_

"_Eh…"_

"_Fine, I'm going, you big liar!" _

"_May!" _

_May stalked off and stormed to the pond in the park. Drew stood there dumbfounded, but eventually plopped himself on the bench. _

"_Saying he had a surprise! Liar!" May kicked the ground and crouched by the pond. Staring at the 'fishies', she soon found herself face to face with her own reflection. _

_The girl gasped, finally realizing Drew's gift. Not wanted to ruin it, May restrained from touching rose in her hair and trotted back to Drew. _

"_Drew! Close your eyes!" May shouted a few meters behind him. _

_In shock, Drew nearly turned around, but then stopped and did what he was told. Striding up to Drew, May planted a quick little peck on the boy's cheek. Opening his eyes and holding the spot where her lips and his face came into contact, he was speechless; delighted, although you weren't able to tell, but speechless._

"_You _are_ my prince, Drew!" May giggled._

"May…May… MAY!" Misty shouted to no avail.

Grinning, Dawn pulled out a pillow and hit her, making a big 'THWUMP' sound.

"Gah!" May straightened herself up and her eyes darted around. "Oh, Misty, Dawn… How long was I asleep?"

"Your mom told us you passed out around the time you got home." Misty explained while looking at the pictures placed in the cupboard. "So around two and a half hours.

"But come on, sleep pants! It's time to party!" Dawn broke out into a series of dance moves although there was no music accompanying her.

May chuckled at the sight and eventually joined her. Misty shook her head, but had a grin forming on her mouth. Giving in to their dancing powers, she turned on the stereo and joined them.

After jamming to three or four songs, they flopped back on the couch, laughing at one another.

* * *

"May, Misty, Dawn, dinner! I made spaghetti!" Caroline called out after their fiesta.

"Food!" May cried.

The three girls rushed to receive their serving. Each person took a huge slurp of their spaghetti.

Misty smiled in nostalgia, "Mm-mm, nothing like the taste of Mrs. Maple's cooking again!"

"It's more delicious than before, Mrs. Maple!" Dawn commented.

"Thank you, dears," Checking her watch, Caroline gasped, "Oh, I'm very sorry, but I have to go to a dinner party with your father, May. You three will be fine without me, right?"

Misty and Dawn automatically nodded, not even looking up from their food. May glanced at them and followed in suit.

"We'll be fine, mom," May reassured, but coughing in at the end, "I hope…"

Misty cleared her throat as well, "As long as some specific navy-haired girl doesn't do anything… dense."

Caroline seemed buy that and left. "Call me if an emergency pops up!"

After confirming that Caroline was out the door, Dawn nonchalantly said, "What would I possibly do to these sweet little angels?"

"Oh, Dawn…" Misty sighed and dragged the girl to where May sat. "Come on, let's watch a movie."

"But Misty, we can't do that yet!" Dawn whined, but obviously was hinting something at Misty.

"Uh, then let's just… talk?"

"I want to play with your hair, again, May. Will you let me?"

"Sure…?" May replied hesitantly.

"Awesome!" Bouncing off the couch, she yanked, combed, and pulled at May's while she took out a bunch of ribbons and ties.

"So, May, what do you think about life here in Petalburg again?" Misty asked.

"Well, I still can't seem to grasp what it felt like before… But right now, I'm very content. It's like I sort of remember, but I…don't." She kept her dreams in her mouth, not wanting to reveal those yet.

Misty nodded in empathy.

"Misty, Dawn, tell me a story."

"Of what?" Dawn asked.

"One of our experiences together,"

"Well, let's wait a little longer into the night, and then we'll tell you the best story ever."

"Are we waiting for something?" May asked curiously.

"What do you mean?" Misty questioned nervously. But inside her mind, she was screeching, _When the hell did she get so smart and quick to catch on? Oh, I guess we're being a little too obvious… Or maybe she just remembers._

"Eh, May, how do you like your hair!" Dawn brought out a mirror and let May examine herself.

"Wow, Dawn, you completely brushed it out! That's amazing, there were so many tangles in there, I didn't know why… But now they're all gone!"

Dawn giggled and admired her work.

Crawling back onto the couch with Misty, Dawn quietly whispered, "How much longer?"

"Said they would be here in 3…2…1…"

And on cue, the door bell rang.

"I'll get it." May lifted herself up, but Dawn quickly barred her way.

"It's not exactly safe, May… Better let Misty handle it."

"Huh?" May was perplexed, but Misty had already glided towards the door with her trusty mallet in hand.

Slowly creaking the door open. Misty blindly took a swing with her mallet.

"That's going to cost you a lot of brain cells, Ashton…"

"Don't call me that, Andrew!"

"What did you just say, you little punk?"

"Just shut it, both of you…"

"Eh, Misty, Dawn, isn't that…?"

"Surprise, Locker Buddy!" Ash jumped in and cheered.

"Hnn," Paul grunted.

"Maple," Drew bowed, holding out a red rose.

"I'll put it with the others I had found." May quickly trotted upstairs to preserve the flower.

Coming back downstairs, the real party was going to begin.

"So you promised her the 'big story'?" Drew questioned

"Yeah, but let's begin with the traditional sleepover games!"

"Truth or Dare's first!" Dawn cried.

"Yeah, yeah, Troublesome, sit down, you're being…Troublesome, tch."

Drew smirked and grabbed a bottle. He never seemed like it, but Drew was always a big fan of games, especially when he could find out some useful information for blackmail.

"I'll spin first!" Ash called out.

* * *

After everyone was positioned into a circle, Ash twirled the bottle around and around and around…

Everyone leaned forward as if to stop the bottle on a specific person, but it eventually landed on Dawn.

"Rats!" Dawn cried; she was frustrated that it didn't land on Paul.

"You know the drill, Dawn, truth or dare?" Ash propositioned.

Dawn shrugged, "Eh, since I have nothing left to tell you guys, dare."

Rubbed his hands together menacingly, Ash cackled.

"What's so great, Ass?" Misty questioned.

"Hey! If anyone's the ass, it'll be Paul."

"Watch it, Ass." Paul growled.

"Just get on with it, Ash!" Dawn cried impatiently.

"Alright! Uh…" Ash scratched his head. "I'm not exactly sure."

"And you were so excited about it, too." May breathed.

"Well, time to pull out the Dare Box if you can't think of anything else, Ash." Misty sighed.

"Damn! That always happens to me!" Ash wailed, but he stuck his hand into the cereal box full of dares anyways.

"Now read it aloud." Misty instructed.

"Like he doesn't know what to do next, Misty," Drew said.

"Right…"

"Shut up! Dawn, the Dare Box dares you to…" Ash paused for a dramatic effect. It worked; Dawn was nervously twirling her hair, hoping the Dare Box took mercy upon her. "Post yourself online at Hot Or Not and show us your page so we can rate you!"

Dawn breathed out, _How bad could that be?_

"Well, Dawny, here's your camera and here's a laptop." Misty smiled deviously as she pushed the materials in front of Dawn.

"Eh, what's the worst you guys could rate me?" Dawn scoffed.

Sticking her fingers up into a peace sign, Dawn gave the cheesiest smile one could manage. Picking up the cord and plugging it in to the camera, Dawn uploaded the picture.

"Not to be nosy or anything, Dawn," May started. "But why do you already have an account on Hot or Not?"

"Oh, well, May," Dawn chuckled, a bit embarrassed. "Misty, Ash, Drew, Paul, and I have had the Dare Box for years now… And well, Hot or Not has become one of its favorite websites… Oh, lookie, it's posted. Here you go, Mist, I'll let you rate me first."

"With pleasure, dearest Dawn," Misty graciously accepted the laptop and entered her rating.

"Ashton!" Misty passed the laptop on.

Ash growled at his entire first name, but nonetheless entered his own score. "Andrew."

Drew gave an equally disdainful response to his full name, and punched in his opinion. "Maybelle."

The girl had to consider what she would 'rate' Dawn as. Eventually deciding, she typed in her opinion. "Paul."

Grunting, Paul accepted the laptop and punched in a number.

"Alright! Now I get to see the average." Dawn cheered. There were several snickers within the group, but they went by unnoticed by the girl.

"Go ahead, Dawn, read it aloud."

"And the average is…" Dawn announced. "A four out of ten? You guys really suck, you know that right?"

The four of them nodded, so this excluded Paul.

"You're not hot, Dawn." Ash started.

"You give off a more 'cute' aura than 'hot'," May continued.

"And you don't got the curves," Misty winked.

"Nor does that baby face of yours help." Drew concluded.

"What, no comments from Paul?" Dawn pouted.

"Definitely not hot," Paul grunted, but this grunt had a different tone than the others.

"Gah! Well, I'd like to see you guys do better!"

"It wouldn't be hard, considering how H-A-W-T I always am," Drew said coolly while flipping his bangs.

"Just keep telling yourself that," May sighed.

"Let's move on, shall we?" Misty suggested.

"Of course," Dawn grinned.

Spinning the bottle, it went around and around and around again, finally halting at Paul.

"Truth, again, I presume, Paul?" Dawn questioned, although she shouldn't have bothered.

Paul nodded.

"Alright, then either describe how you will die, your funeral, or both."

"I will die because my heart worked too hard. It will be because all five of you stressed me out too much. But although it may be unfortunate, I'll at least die in my sleep. And at my funeral, don't play any sappy music, will you? Bring me… pitch black orchids instead of roses or whatever crap."

"Right, Paul." Misty sweatdropped. "Just spin the bottle, will you?"

"Hnn." Taking the bottle, he swirled it around again for the third time. Finally it stopped at Misty. "Pass the Dare Box."

"You're never creative, Paul." Dawn stuck out her tongue, but brought the box to him.

"Dare, right, Misty?" Paul asked. Misty nodded. " Then… You are now a slave, the group will choose who your master will be."

"Damned!" Misty cried.

"Do we even need to decide?" Dawn asked.

The answer was unanimous, other than Ash.

Sticking a finger a few centimeters before Misty's face, Dawn said, "For the rest of the night, you shall have to be Sir Ashton's butler."

"Yeah, yeah," Misty grumbled. "Let's just move on."

Spinning the bottle once more, it rolled around until it landed on May.

"Truth or Dare?" Misty asked, now suddenly full of energy.

"Hmm, truth, just to be safe." May replied.

"Neh, May, you're so boring." Dawn whined.

May shrugged as Misty gave her the truth, "Which person in the room do you think is most likely to flirt with him or herself in the mirror?"

The whole group, excluding Paul who only cracked a smidgen of a smile, burst out laughing, but then the laughter died out when they realized that May was about to say one of their names.

May licked her lips and opened her mouth, "I mean, it really isn't a hard question; the answer is a definite Drew."

Scoffing indignantly, Drew flicked his bangs gain. The others were chortling and snickering until everyone became calm and quiet.

"Since Drew's the only one left, there's no need to spin the bottle." Dawn said. "May, just give him his truth or dare."

"Truth, please," Drew quickly added.

"Hmm… Pass the box, will you? Have you ever fantasized about anyone in the room?"

It became dead silently, although you could feel that Misty, Ash, and Dawn were having a difficult time stifling their laughs.

"Sure, why not?" Drew shrugged.

"Who?" Dawn inquired.

"Now _that's_ an entirely new question." Drew countered. "You can ask again next time."

"That's certainly interesting…" Paul said.

"I never knew Drew was so… so…" Ash stuttered, "dirty!"

By now you could see Misty and Dawn rolling on the floor laughing. May was giggling happily along with them. _Everything's just how it feels it should be._

"Alright, let's move onto our next game." Drew said with an evil glint in his eye. "Bide-and-Shriek."

* * *

**Anyone want to take a guess? I''l give you this cookie (::). Delicious looking, right? Please Review.**


	7. Chapter 7: My Sincerest Apology

To all (if any are still alive) readers and followers,

I am sincerely sorry, but I think many of you have expected this, but I have no other choice than to abandon this project. I started this project when I was a naïve preteen, and although still naïve, my English skills have improved to the point where I am absolutely disgusted with this fanfiction. Therefore I also apologize to those who have had the misfortune of reading this, yet were too polite to flame me. Perhaps I have just become cynical and angst-ridden as I continue to descend into teen-hood, but these are my beliefs.

What I now assume 11-year-old-me was trying to accomplish was to create a perfect fantasy that I had started off in my mind, only to develop this story into one of those clichéd little fics that undermines any emotion other than pure happiness and shallow sadness in order to appease the audiences as well as myself. You_ all_ knew after Truth or Dare, that there would be a Homecoming Dance, where May and Drew share that kiss that they've both longed for and it was as magical as a ride on a Pegasus. In the end, May would just happily remember her memories and accept everything.

I am wrong to romanticize these types of things. Memory loss is not as brilliant as this story makes it to be. I have utterly failed to convey emotion and realism as a writer and am ashamed of myself. I apologize to those who indeed still believed in me to finish up this story, but I cannot bring myself to do so. On the other hand, I have returned to as a writer and will try to update my 100-Themed Challenge fic, and perhaps try to salvage what I can from "The Artist," although that may also come to a similar fate and be set on a permanent hiatus.

Thank you for taking time to read this, I can only wish to regain your trust and hope that you keep following me, because I will try starting multi-chapter projects again, this time, hopefully with more finesse to my writing and to offer y'all with quality fics.

Regards,

Cream-Soda-PSH

PS. I shall keep this fic up for two reasons; firstly because it at least has brought joy to some of you, whether it has made you smile or laugh or not and maybe you can read over the first few chapters again someday, and secondly because it'll serve as a reminder to me of how horrid my English skills and fangirl mind were.


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